Unpredictable Patterns #99: The End
Finishing the newsletter in time, why we should quit more and what comes next
Dear reader,
This marks the 99th note, and also the last, in the series Unpredictable Patterns. Some of you noticed that I slowed the publishing some, and I can admit it was because I wanted to write this last note on New Years Eve - and I did not want it to be the 100th, because such symmetry is always a bit suspect, isn't it?
So here we are -- last note, and summing up the project so far.
I have written, on average, around 3000 words a note and for a long time did so weekly. That makes for almost 300 000 words in total, on different subjects that I wanted to learn or work with in different ways. I took the opportunity to write about things that I was working on or to reflect on books that I had read - and I also set out to learn things that I did not feel I had a good grip on. As a learning mechanism this worked very well - and it was augmented by the many thoughtful comments from you, both pushing back and suggesting different perspectives.
So, why quit now? Partly because I wanted to quit while the notes still felt useful and the process still worked. We often quit far too late, and it is easy to think that if I have written a 100 notes, why not then write a 1000? But as Annie Duke points out in her new book about quitting and as a complement to grit, when we quit we clear the decks for new projects and new ideas - and that is what I want to do. There are a number of things I would like to do more of, that I will now free up time for.
Books. I have a few books that I want to get to writing in my spare time - and 300 000 words would have made progress on a few of them, so that is something I will now turn to.
Blogging. I want to take up blogging again, since it fosters a different kind of writing that I also value - short form to the long form of the book. I will do so on unpredictablepatterns.com.
Research. I want to get back into writing papers in informatics and philosophy. That is something that I have neglected for a while now. I have been giving talks in a small seminar at a university on the philosophy of AI from a historical perspective (the Dreyfus note summed up one of the talks), and I want to start to write more consistently about philosophy and technology.
Speculative fiction. I have written two small pieces recently that have sold, and want to continue doing so - this is something that exercises very different aspects of the mind, and so something I feel I need to double down on.
The unexpected. I also expect that there will be other things that I will find now that I free up some time to learn in other ways. If you have ideas, places to collaborate or write together - do let me know!
And so Unpredictable Patterns - the newsletter - now concludes with a heartfelt thank you for reading, commenting and debating. I have been very grateful for your time and thoughts!
If you want any future updates you can find me at unpredictablepatterns.com - and if you remain on this email list I will infrequently send out texts and updates here too.
Happy New Year!
N
Nicklas, thank you for everything you've gracefully offered through the Unpredictable Patterns newsletter. Looking forward to reading your next creations and will definitely subscribe to the blog. Happy New Year! 🎉